The Butte County Fish and Game Commission held its quarterly meeting in Chico this week.

Agenda items included a warden’s report. New Butte County California Department of Fish and Wildlife warden Art Golden reported that he recently caught two subjects who were guilty of poaching multiple deer, along with stolen vehicle and firearm violations.

CDFW fisheries biologist Tracy McReynolds reported that the first adult chinook salmon was observed moving in to Butte Creek on Feb. 3, which is the earliest date ever recorded.

State Parks ranger Dan Marinella reported that upgrades are complete at Lake Oroville’s Bidwell Launch Ramp. Upgrades will now begin at the Lime Saddle ramp, and further upgrades have been approved for the Loafer Creek ramp.

Department of Water Resources biologist Eric See confirmed that a record 200,000 steelhead will be stocked into the Thermalito Afterbay, including 150,000 smaller-grade fish averaging around six inches, along with 50,000 larger ones averaging 10-12 inches. Lake Oroville itself will receive about 120,000 chinook salmon later this year.

See continued with news that the Boy Scouts just completed placing 1,200-plus discarded Christmas trees along the shoreline as fish habitat. Back in August, the DWR replaced 5,000 yard of salmon spawning gravel in the low flow section, and also excavated a side channel popular with spawning salmon.

Currently underway are ADA upgrades to the bathrooms around the lake. Perhaps most significantly, both See and Marinella of State Parks confirmed that the decision has been made to re-open the spillway launch and parking lot, along with pedestrian and vehicle access across the dam itself. Most of these projects are projected to be completed by spring of 2019.

Turkey hunting book

Ed Migale, the former head of the Chico chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation, and a member of the California Outdoors Hall of Fame, has published a new book on turkey hunting. Titled “Ten Steps to Becoming a Successful Turkey Hunter”, the full-color 136-page volume shares the author’s innovative approach to springtime turkey hunting.

Topics covered include camouflage, locations, scouting, setup locations, shotguns, ammo and calls. Also discussed are archery and meat care, along with a narrative on Migale’s 10-year quest to complete his Grand Slam and Royal Grand Slam.

The book is available in Chico at Deer Creek Archery, 1152 West Eighth Ave. for $24.95 plus tax. Personalized and signed copies can be obtained from the author by emailing him at emigale@comcast.net and adding “turkey hunting book” in the subject line.

Farewell

Due to family and professional obligations, I will be relocating out of the area, and this will be my final outdoors column. A lot has changed in the worlds of fishing, hunting, and outdoor communication during the 20 years since I began writing this column, but I have enjoyed the ups and downs of the ride. It has been my distinct pleasure to serve the readers by bringing as much news about our local, statewide, and national outdoors as could be fit inside a weekly column. I will be continuing my multiple other duties in the recreational fishing industry and outdoor communication world, and may make the occasional guest appearance in these pages.